Apocalypse Love

Dinner With Strangers

We all enter the dinning room, beginning to sit around the table. "There's an open spot for you, right here!" Gallant shoved Coco off the chair where she had sat next him, earning yet another glare to him. "Really Gallant?" Coco asked before sitting in the other empty chair place in between his Nana and Stu. "Thank you." I gracefully sit in between Gallant and Dinah. "What do you think we'll eat?" I whispered to Gallant. "Just wait..." He whispered back. Suddenly Ms.Venable and the short woman with jet black hair entered the room with another woman who's very large and tall. "They call the large woman the first, can you imagine how she got that nickname?" Gallant whispered to me  "Who's the short woman?" I questioned  "Ms.Meads...Venables sidekick and puppet" he smirked. I've heard that name before but again my mind felt like it had been erased causing me to draw a blank.  Ms.Venable pulled the chair out and sits at the head of the table, the woman with jet black hair sitting down at her left side. Just then the greys all come inside the room, walking in a cricket around the table and set plates with metal tops over them in front of each of us. The grey takes the metal top off and what was on my plate cause me to feel disappointed. "Uhhh, what?" I knit my brows together, staring at the creme colored jello cube sitting on my plate. "And that's all you get..." Gallant whispered as he leaned towards me. I pick up my fork, poking at the cube. It moved in a sicking way, jiggling before sitting still. "That's..." I gulped down the vomit that wanted to escape. "Appetizing.." Gallant grunted a laugh out "It gets better." "When?" I asked him. "I'll tell you, when it happens" he joked. I laugh at his comment. "All the calories you need lie in that cube, so don't waste it" Ms.Venable demanded. She then picked up her fork and knife, cutting into the cube and eating small pieces from it. Did we really need a fork? This thing was small and I could eat it in one bite. Coco did that, picking up the cube and inhaling it down within seconds. I take a moment to prepare myself for what this thing could taste like. I cut the cube with my fork and bring it to my mouth. The taste is bland, maybe even a little bitter. The texture definitely is slimy, not something I'm used to. I sallow the small amount and my gag reflex wanted to react but I held it back as I take another bite. The room was silent from chatter, forks clinking together reached every part of the room. I reach out and take my glass of water and bringing it to my lips and drinking down the rest of the cube. When everyone is finished the greys come in and grab our plates. "It's 9 30" Ms.Venable informed us. "I must advised everyone that if caught out of your rooms past midnight you will face punishment" she reminded us. With that, Ms.Venable and the short woman with black hair had left the room. I rose from my chair and begin to exit the dinning room. I walk down the hall, beginning to explore the halls. But it's like my feet knew where they were going. I pushed open a set of double doors to find a large sitting room. A fire place on one end of the room with sofa and chairs placed neatly. My eyes traveled to the books on the large wooden cases. My feet moved closer to the bookcase, eyes scanning each binding before finding a title I could read. "Tom Clancy the Bear and the Dragon?" I knit my brows together before opening the cover and reading the first page. My eyes scanning each word, now and then looking up at the clock to see the time passed by. When it hits 11:30 I decided it would be a good time to turn in. I placed the book back on the shelf and exited the room, closing the doors behind me. "Shouldn't you be in bed Miss Adams?" Venables voice asked as I reach the top step. I turn my head as she appoarched me. "Headed there now Ms.Venable" I stated. My eyes look over he came, wondering why she even had it. "Do you need to be lashed? It's already 11 40" she spoke in a hiss. "If I see you out of bed, you'll get ten lashes!" She threatened me. I continued to walk down the hall, turning to my door and entering inside. I'm quick to tug on the string that kept the dressed clinging to my body. The dress loosened and I breathed out hard, feeling like I could finally take a deep breath now. "Fuck..." I winched as I stepped out of my dress and picked it up from the floor and tossing it into the basket in the corner of the room. I tossed my heels at the end of my bed and walking towards my small bathroom. I opened the door, stepping inside and see the shower and bathtub. The sink is on the other side of the bathroom with a golden mirror. I walk over to the shower and turned on the hot water before taking off the rest.of my clothes and stepping inside. The hot water runs over my soft skin and I let out a groan as I feel the stress leave my body. Was this my life now? Seeing the same people day after day? Having the same conversations that seemed endless. Coco giving me death stares and Gallant telling jokes that would never get funnier. His Nana talking about her past relationships like we had asked her.  Would I forever be stuck having dinner with strangers. This outpost was going to drive me insane, it was going to be the death of me if I let it.